crafts

 I recently attended the 27^th Annual Harvest of Art and Crafts Show. It is held at the Trimborn Farm in Greendale, Wisconsin and is one of my favorites. I try to get there every year if possible. The setting is fantastic. This is a Milwaukee County Historical Society site, on the National Register of Historic Places as well as a State of Wisconsin and Milwaukee County Landmark. It all started when Werner Trimborn came to the area in 1847, and a few years later purchased 10 acres of land, a quarry and a lime kiln. The farm became the County’s largest producer of lime, which was used in making mortar for construction of early buildings in Milwaukee and surrounding communities. In the mid-1930s the federal government made the Trimborn Farm its base of operations in building the Villlage of Greendale as a model “Green Community.” It’s also fun to take the tour of the farmhouse and out-buildings, including a Great Stone Barn.

There is a wonderful mix at this show and while it is relatively small, compared to some of the other shows such as the Lakefront Art Show in Milwaukee (usually in July), it definitely offers something for everyone. There was a nice variety of jewelry, the fused or .lampwork glass which is quite popular, also some made of Swarski crystal, just dazzling. Other booths offered handwoven and beaded pieces. Lots of Wearable Art!

I found a marvelous birthday gift for an old friend at the booth of Barbara Stadtler – a stained glass window that had 3-dimensional wine glasses. My friend is a wine connoisseur and the colors went perfectly with her house. This was Barbara’s first time at the Fair and she seemed to be doing a super business!

 There were some lovely ceramic artists as well, a gent who did birdhouses, very creative. Custom wooden decoys, stoneware pottery, primitive stitchery, folk art and dolls…all could be found at this delightful show.

One of my personal favorites came from the booth of Toni and Paul Ansbach – they called it ’sculpture’ in the flyer and it was fabulous. They once were into rebuilding old cars “big time” and saved many of the parts. Toni decided she wanted something unique to hold her old gazing ball and voila! They came up with the idea of using a combination of these auto parts. They offered a wide variety and called the grouping “Reincarnated.” Being a lover of rust, it was hard to resist but as hubby says “we have enough yard art as it is.”

Fredrick’s Glass Creations was another must-stop. He offers a nice variety of glassware – bold colors and wonderful designs. I purchased a small plate from him, similar to the one I bought last year that got rave reviews.

Another glass artistan was Nick Bowers, who made these fabulous pieces (looks a lot like Dale Chihuli.) His email is griffinglassdesign@yahoo.com. His mother was tending the booth and said he is working on an improved website.

One of my all-time favorites is the booth of Liam Hughes of Lamplighter Studio! For those of you who are not familiar with his work, I plan to do an interview with him in time for my next article. His booth was way too busy to disrupt with a lengthy discussion, but he was gracious enough to give me his contact information and I will be in touch with him in the near future. 

These fall shows are such fun and just what you need to add to your collection of glassware, pottery, jewelry or trendy home décor.

Thirteen Retro Kitsch Items That Likely Didn’t Survive For You To Collect

All of these were found in magazines from the late 50’s and early 60’s, and as handmade kitschy crafts, this is likely the only way they have survived.

#1 Dolls displayed in a dead tree. My sister has a fear of dolls. I could understand if she’d ever seen this… What a great way to scare and emotionally scar your little girl.

#2 – 7 Hobby wall panels. Rather self-explanatory…. but still I shall comment as I feel is required.

So we’ve got baseball, football, golf and pool; how about something for the little ladies (who don’t golf)? Ah, a gardening motif. I don’t know about you, but upon spying the little plastic shovel, I expected to see a matching little plastic beach pail.

If they all suspiciously look like Christmas trees… That’s because they are suggested holiday decor. And nothing, but nothing, says, “Merry Christmas!” like a wall panel Christmas tree made of swords and guns.

(Note: The designer, Robert Hammer, is credited for this one.)

#8 Construction paper food. The instructions leave much to be desired. “Most are easy to make. For example, the banana is merely a crescent-shaped piece of yellow construction paper. Fold down the center, stapled at the ends, gives it a lifelike, three-dimensional appearance.” I think we knew to use yellow, and the basic shape… What about the turkey?

#9 Muffin cup ornaments. Eight kitschy paper ornaments, right from mom’s cupboard. Paper propped-up next to those old stings of Christmas lights, with their uber safe sockets and hot bulbs, will really light-up your holiday celebration.

#10 Muffin cup wreath. Muffin cups were apparently a cheap commodity, replacing popcorn in holiday crafting and ornamentation. I’ll buy that. But what the heck are “paper honeycomb balls”? I bet they stopped making those when kids confused them with Honeycomb cereal.

#11 – 12  A quadruple lantern of spray painted cardboard to match the long-gone scenic wallpaper.  And hey, the wrapped gifts match too.

I don’t remember a time when holiday decorations were supposed to match your home; I had previously always believed that the red & green of Christmas were selected for their inability to fit discreetly in any home.

#13 Frighten your babes in toy land.   Construct a several feet tall city to prevent the kids from bothering you during holiday cocktail time!

The “chunky dolls” are just under 4 feet tall, enough to intimidate any toddler — or drunk adult relative. Which is why no matter how much time “father — or doting grandfather” spent making this, it went curb-side at the first sign of spring.  Or maybe even was tossed with the tree.

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We have always included some hand-crafted items in our decorating scheme. We try to attend a number of art shows in various locations with some of our favorites being Art On The Square, around the Wisconsin capital in Madison, Lakefront Festival of Arts near the world-famous Calatrava Art Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,

the Art Show in Spring Green, Wisconsin (home of Taliesin, built by architect Frank Lloyd Wright.) And while on vacation in Florida we love the shows in Sarasota, at St. Armand’s Key! Items purchased over the years include pottery pieces, glass, and of course hand-made jewelry – lots of it – because wifey just cannot resist! Over time we have witnessed the growth of these venues and the sophistication of the various items offered.
One event we have always wanted to visit happens at a historical site run by the Milwaukee County Historical Society – it’s called Trimborn Farms, in Greendale, Wisconsin. The farm is from the 1850’s and includes a quarry and lime kiln for making mortar. During the Depression, the farm was used by the Federal Government as a headquarters when the Village of Greendale was built as a WPA Work Project.

The show is called the Harvest of Arts & Crafts. This year 126 vendors representing all types of beautiful crafts and artwork enjoyed two days of great weather and huge crowds. This being Wisconsin, a TV was set up on the grounds for viewing the Packer game on Sunday!

Artists were situated on the beautiful grounds, in the historical threshing barn, in the stone horse barn, pump house, granary and several sheds.

Although it was quite busy, we were able to spend time visiting with several vendors who had interesting items. Antique Button Creations showed the unique use of fancy buttons as covers atop antique glass salt dips! They also strung them together as bracelets or hair decorations. Jeannie and Ralph are available at hawchill@aol.com
and are showing through the end of the year at locations in Wisconsin and Illinois.

Beautiful Glass Creations from Griffin Glass & Design Studio included these items. Check out this fantastic huge bowl!

Lamplighter Studio featured silver edged dress pins and pendants made from pottery and china plates that were broken into small pieces. Each piece is identified on the back of the display card, showing the source of the stone.

Al Lever from Fredricks Glass Creation had these fused glass plates and bowls. Many were in brilliant colors or with an iridescent quality. New to the show circuit, Al does not have his website up as yet but it is in the works. Look for him at fine glass and art shows throughout Wisconsin.

Getting wifey away from the jewelry booths was a chore and she found one dichroic glass pendant she could not do without. We both agreed on a wonderful hand-made glass plate from Al Lever, purchased some scented poupourri and a few other trinkets.

If you have not had the chance to visit one of these art shows in your area, I advise you to put one on your ‘to-do list.’ We have great memories of our collecting adventures, looking for just the right decorator items to enhance and complement our décor and fitting them in with all of our beloved antiques.
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The first time I heard the term “Arts and Crafts” in reference to a decorative style I was a bit confused since the phrase generally brought to mind birdcages made from Popsicle sticks. However, upon further investigation I learned that Arts and Crafts was a style that flourished in the later half of the 1800s, originating in England and making its way across the pond to the United States, where it was also known as Craftsman or Mission style.

The Arts and Crafts movement occurred in response to the Industrial Revolution, in which the advent of mass production in factories led to poorly made, shoddy furniture, and the Victorian style, which favored embellishing almost every available surface with scrolls, cherubs and other ornamentation. In contrast, Arts and Crafts pieces focused on simple shapes, strong lines and excellent craftsmanship. While the Arts and Crafts ideals were first applied to furniture, the movement eventually expanded to include architecture, jewelry and other decorative arts.

Interestingly, in the beginning Arts and Crafts was not just a decorative style, but was devised with the intention of taking the working man away from harsh factory conditions and giving him work that would use both his mind and hands, creating a beautiful product he could be proud of and that would be affordable to other ordinary people. In practice, the handcrafted designs cost more to make than factory furniture and only the wealthy could afford them, though in the U.S. a combination of factory made pieces and assembly by craftsmen made Arts and Crafts pieces more accessible to the average consumer.

Some of the most recognized names among the Arts and Crafts designers are William Morris, Gustav Stickley and Frank Lloyd Wright. English designer William Morris founded the design company Morris & Co. where furniture, wallpaper and stained glass were made in accordance with the principles of Arts and Crafts. Gustav Stickley was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement in England and in 1898 opened the doors of his United Crafts company where he turned out his Craftsman line of elegantly simple furniture. Stickley also devised architectural principles based on the Craftsman style, which were adopted and expanded upon by the well known architect Frank Lloyd Wright.